Onion Prices go up due to Drought-like conditions and dwindling supplies.
Ritika Bhoora
Pune 25 oct 2018: On Wednesday, Onion prices went up in wholesale and retail markets due to shortage of supply following drought-like conditions in crop producing areas of Maharashtra.
Last week in the retail market, the price of one kg of onions was Rs 12 whereas on Wednesday the price went as high as Rs 25 per kg.
The supply of onions dropped by more than 1000 quintal at Market Yard on Wednesday. The prices went up overnight from Rs 6 – Rs 17 per kg to Rs 8 – Rs 18 per kg in the wholesale market. Currently the prices are Rs 800 to Rs 1800 per quintal. Wholesalers fear that the prices could go as high as Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 per quintal
According to an Agricultural Produce market committee (APMC), the supply of onions dropped on Wednesday as compared to the previous four days. An APMC official said that, “Several factors are leading to the decrease in supply. During Diwali, onion stock drops as the new crop does not reach the markets. Besides, onions have not yet reached the harvest stage in many fields. Another reason may be water scarcity in various districts because of less rainfall this monsoon.”
As the stock of old onions from April is also diminishing the official said, “We need both the old and the new crops as the demand is high during this period. Besides, use of chemical-based fertilizers by the farmers in soil for years are also affected the quality of the crops.”
Over the last eight days the supply of onions also dropped in Lasalgaon, the biggest onion market of Nashik District.
With the drying up of 60% of the total kharif crop of the Nashik District, the kharif produce is set to drop by seven lakh tonnes, i.e, 78%
When asked about the rising prices of onions, a vegetable vendor said that hiding of stocks by middlemen causes an artificial scarcity leading to increase in prices.
